hedge (one's) bets

hedge one's bets

Fig. to reduce one's loss on a bet or on an investment by counterbalancing the loss in some way. Bob bet Ann that the plane would be late. He usually hedges his bets. This time he called the airline and asked about the plane before he made the bet.John bought some stock and then bet Mary that the stock would go down in value in one year. He has hedged his bets perfectly. If the stock goes up, he sells it, pays off Mary, and still makes a profit. If it goes down, he reduces his loss by winning the bet he made with Mary.

hedge one's bets

Lessen one's chance of loss by counterbalancing it with other bets, investments, or the like. For example, I'm hedging my bets by putting some of my money in bonds in case there's another drop in the stock market . This term transfers hedge, in the sense of "a barrier," to a means of protection against loss. [Second half of 1600s]

We work with companies to quickly and strategically evaluate their partnerships and move to either consolidate their portfolio of alliances, or hedge bets and create ways to most effectively limit over-exposure.

Hood also suggests that for William Hill to conduct all of their hedging activity on-course, the firm would need to be sure that their hedge bets in the ring were not being bet back on to exchanges by on-course bookmakers.

And while most economists do not like to hedge bets on the index's likely outcome, which is an indicator of consumption, they predict that at worst, March's reading will be in line with February's comparatively healthy plus five level.

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